


Songbird

by PsychedelicShips



Series: My Sanders Sides one shots [14]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Angst, Kidnapping, M/M, People In Cages, Sympathetic Janus, Sympathetic Patton, Whump, fae!Janus, royality, treating people like property
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:08:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27845786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychedelicShips/pseuds/PsychedelicShips
Summary: Patton is taken by a faerie.
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: My Sanders Sides one shots [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1846756
Comments: 2
Kudos: 46





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This gets super dark, so please make sure you've read all the warnings!

Patton humed as he picked blackberries to make into a pie. It would be a surprise for Roman when he came back from town- Patton knew how much Roman loved blackberries! Picking the bush clean, Patton stood up, the basket in hand, and continued humming as he walked down the dirt path that led to the cottage he and Roman shared. Patton knew the path well, and stopped when he saw someone walking towards him. 

“Hello! Can I help you?” Patton called out, unused to seeing people who weren’t Roman walk in this part of the woods. 

“Well, maybe,” the stranger replied. “You see, I heard a beautiful singing voice over this way, and I was looking for someone to sing at a dinner party I’m having. You wouldn’t happen to know where to find that singer?”

Patton blushed. “That’s me,” he replied. 

“Oh! Wonderful! Would you be interested in singing for me again?”

“Well, I’d love to! The only thing is, I have a pie to bake. When is this party?” Patton took in the stranger. He was well dressed, wearing an orange and black cloak that shimmered when he moved. 

“Oh, the pie won’t be a problem,” he moved closer to Patton, and only when the stranger ran his finger down Patton’s cheek did he feel that something was… off about the man. Patton stepped back, away from the stranger. 

“What do you mean?” Patton narrowed his eyes, a bad feeling in his gut. 

“You don’t have to worry about it. Everything will be taken care of.”

Before Patton could react, the stranger snapped his fingers and vines came sprouting out of the ground, forcing Patton to his knees, wrapping around his arms and legs, around his torso, tightening around his neck, until the only thing he could do was move his eyes from inside the cocoon of plantlife. He couldn't even make a sound- vines wrapped around his jaw, forcing his mouth shut. Everytime he exhaled, the plants constricted further around his chest, until every breath of air was a fight he was sorely losing. 

He couldn’t even thrash around as he felt the stranger pick him up as if he were no heavier than a child’s ragdoll. Each time Patton tried to move, the vines adjusted so that he couldn’t even wiggle his fingers. There was nothing he could do to stop the stranger from taking him away. 

There was only one thought in Patton’s mind- what was happening to him? 

Eventually he lost the fight against the vines- they constricted around his chest, and even the little bit of light coming through gaps in the plants disappeared as he exhaled one last time. 

When Patton woke up, he found himself in an empty room, his clothes tattered from the vines and hands stained with blackberry juice. He stood up shakily, still lightheaded. There were no windows, no furniture, not even a rug. Only a cold stone floor and a door on one end of the room. Patton was about to walk to the door when it swung open and two men walked inside. 

“Hello, Songbird,” one on them said with a grin. Patton took a step back, frantically searching for anything in the room that could be used as a weapon.

The other man, with alarming speed, came behind Patton and kicked him in the back of the leg, once again forced to his knees. The first man grabbed a fistful of hair, ignoring Patton’s cry of pain while the second held Patton’s shoulders down. 

“Listen, Songbird,” he spat. “You’re going to be a well behaved pet. You aren’t going to cause any trouble, unless you want to end up like the last king’s pet, understand?”

Patton nodded his head through the tears that had come. 

“Good. Now, get dressed.” He threw a bundle of cloth at Patton. 

After a struggle, Patton now stood in the center of the room, one man holding each of his arms, in what seemed to be a mile of silk. The tunic that had been forced over his head was too tight, and he felt like if he made any moves, it would rip in half. His pants, similarly, were extremely tight. There was nothing of him that was left to imagination. The only thing that gave Patton some semblance of privacy was the dark blue cape draped over his shoulders. 

“Now, remember what we said about behaving, little birdy,” the first man said as the door opened again. Patton choked down a gasp as he saw what was being brought in.

A golden cage, carried by three servants, was set down in front of him. A servant handed the first man something, and Patton had to stop himself from shouting as the man turned to face Patton again. 

With a snap of his fingers, Patton felt vines growing around his neck again. 

_ No, no! This couldn’t be happening-  _ Patton’s breathing became faster and shallower as the vines encircled his neck. A single tendril grew out from the collar that had formed and attached itself to the center of the cage. 

“Get in, little birdy,” the first man jeered. 

Patton froze.

“Did you hear me? I said get in!” The man shoved Patton inside. He fell onto the barred floor with a grunt, the vines choking him once again. Before Patton could turn around, the cage closed, trapping him inside. 

“Take him away,” the second man said. “It’s almost time for the king’s dinner.” 

“Please! Don’t!” Patton begged, reaching an arm through the bars. 

“Oh, thank you for reminding me, little birdy!” Another snap of his fingers, and vines began to grow around Patton’s wrists, tying his arms to the domed roof. “And remember, don’t talk until you’re spoken to!” 

Patton’s cries were ignored by the servants carrying the cage. There was no one in the hallways he was carried through, save for a few other servants, all looking away from him. 

After twists and turns that he could never hope to remember, Patton was carried through a doorway that led to what he assumed was a dining hall. There, at the end of the long table, was the stranger Patton had seen- the one that cocooned him in vines, the one that took him away. 

“You!” Patton shouted. “Where am I?” 

The stranger simply ‘tsk’d’ at him. “I don’t appreciate being spoken to like that, pet.” He put a hand through the bars and held Patton’s cheek. Patton tried to move away, but the vine collar around his neck forced him to stay in place. “Don’t speak until you’re spoken to. Or sing, for that matter! Put him up there,” he instructed the servants.

The three of them obeyed, setting down the cage and scurrying to attach a chain to the top. 

“Please!” Patton begged again to the stranger. “Why are you doing this to me!?”

“Well, you remember what we said on the path, right? I said I needed someone to sing for my dinner party, and you agreed!” He clapped his hands. “Now, when I tell you to sing, you are going to sing, Until then, you will be obedient and silent. Unless you want me to make you silent. Understand?”

Patton nodded, shaking like a leaf the entire conversation. 

“Good. Now put him up! Hurry!” The servants attached the chain to the top and began to hoist Patton up to the ceiling. Every lurch of the cage made Patton feel as if he was going to throw up, until the cage was securely on the ceiling. 

“Dinner is in an hour. I’ll see you there, Songbird!” the stranger gave a mocking wave and left the dining hall. 

Patton watched servants set the table below him. He shouted down what must have been ten feet, but the servants either couldn’t hear his cries for help or ignored him. The cape of his restricting outfit pooled on the bottom of the cage, trapping him even further in a sea of fabric. The only good thing he could possibly think of was that somehow his glasses had stayed on.

Eventually a stream of well dressed men, women, and some others trickled into the dining hall, most of them looking up at him. He watched one man nuge his friend and laugh. Patton paled to think what they could be talking about as he saw them make rude gestures. The guests sat beneath him, talking amongst each other, until the man in orange and black robes came in. All attention went to him as he sat at the head of the table. He raised his hand, and all conversations ended. 

“Hello, esteemed guests!” he announced. “Today we are here to be entertained by my new pet, a spectacularly talented little songbird! Everyone please give him a round of applause!”

He pointed to the cage where Patton dangled, his restraints still in place. The guests looked up and clapped, and only now from his vantage point could he tell what was so off putting about all of them. The tips of their ears were pointed, their fingers just a little too long. Their skin seemed to be shiny in the light. The subtle differences confirmed what Patton had been dreading.

He had been kidnapped by the fae. 

“Sing for us, birdie!”

Patton took a shaky breath. 

“Sing!” The stranger shouted again. 

All the guests below look up at him expectantly. The vine collar loosened just a bit, allowing him to breathe slightly easier. He took a deep breath and obeyed the command to sing. He remembered a song his mother used to sing with him-

_ “Do the roses grow in November, or do thorns tear you apart, does the rain come down in summer, in the bosom of your heart? Did your love grow, and burn so bright, was it love forever, that warmed you in the night, the pledge of love, you swore till death, is it broken now and twisted, forever in your heart?” _

__ He continued the song, echoing off the stone walls. When he finished, he bowed his head and felt the collar restricting once again.

“I told you this new songbird was talented! Reward him with some food if you’d like, just toss it up there! If he doesn’t catch it, then oh well!” The stranger continued. “And now, esteemed friends and guests, it’s time to eat!” 

He sat down to applause as servants brought out trays of food. The vines around his wrists lengthed to allow Patton to reach between the bars of the cage in order for him to try to catch the occasional bread roll that was tossed up to him. He was only able to catch two rolls, many more falling back down to the table below. 

Patton wondered what Roman was doing now- had he found the blackberry basket that had spilled on the path? Was he wondering where Patton was? Or had he even come back from town yet? How long had it been? Had it been a few hours? A week? Had it been months since Patton had been taken? Had Roman searched for him and had eventually given up? 

Patton found himself sobbing. Between the cage, the vines, and Roman having undoubtedly given up on finding him, how could Patton hope to ever leave? He would die in the horrible golden cage, whether from starvation or dehydration, his bones would be still clothed in the horrible outfit he had been forced into, and he would never see Roman again, never taste blackberries fresh off the bush, perhaps never even see the sun again. 

His wracking sobs made breathing even harder. 

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but when he looked down again, the dinner had finished and the fae had cleared out of the room. All except servants and two faeries were left. One of them talked to the orange and black robed stranger, his face hidden from Patton’s view by the black hat he wore. The one in the hat pointed up at him as the orange robed one grinned. The only words Patton heard came from the orange faerie: “Yes, I think I can arrange that.”

He clapped his hands, and the servants scurried to where the chain of the birdcage was secured on the wall. Patton let out a shriek as the chain was suddenly released and the cage hit the stone floor with a  _ clang!  _ The cage had landed on its side, forcing Patton almost upside down, his back pressed against the door. 

The servants- who Patton could now see had long tails, almost mouse-like- righted the cage, jerking Patton around. The man in the black hat walked over and crouched in front of Patton. 

He stifled a gasp as he saw the the faerie had golden snake scales instead of skin on the left side of his face. 

“Let him out, and I’ll take him from here,” the faerie said, still looking at Patton. The mouse-tailed servants unlatched the cage and the vines detached from the bars- though they still held tight around his wrists and throat. The snake faced faerie took the tendril coming off the collar in his hands and tugged it out of the cage, Patton coming with it. He stayed silent, the fear of what would happen if he talked greater than his curiosity. 

“Come along,” the snake-faerie pulled the vine, forcing Patton to stumble after him. The vines around his wrist knit together, tying his hands in front of him. He was led through the- what was the place he was in? A castle? A fortress? Patton tripped over the uneven stone in the twisting hallways until the snake faerie opened a wooden door to a lavishly decorated bedroom. 

“You!” he pointed to a servant. “Bring me a meal for two. And you, hold him down.” They nodded and scurried away as the faerie tugged on the leash again and led Patton inside.   
Patton let out a shout as he was shoved onto the bed, kicking at the servant who held his shoulders down as the vines around his wrist tied themselves around the headboard. “Let me go! Let me go!” He shouted through the tears of anger and frustration. 

The snake faced faerie came a step closer once the servant left, and Patton threw a well placed kick into his face. The faerie stumbled back, and Patton let himself have a small victory. The faerie held his forehead where the kick had landed, a drop of blood staining the golden scales.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. “I’m going to help you. I only did that because I know the servants spread rumors.” 

It was only then that Patton opened his mouth to speak.

“What are you doing?” He hissed.

The yellow scales grinted under the torchlight as the faerie replied, “helping you. I already told you that. Now shut up, the servant is coming back.”

Sure enough, the same servant from before opened the door and set a tray of food on the nightstand beside the outrageously gigantic bed. They bowed and left the room. A minute later, the faerie spoke again.

“My father believes I want to have you. I don’t, so you can settle that fear. What I really want is to help you escape.”

“What?” Patton didn’t believe what he had just heard.

“What my father does to humans is wrong. I figured out long ago that I can’t convince him to stop taking people: all I can do is help them ‘mysteriously’ escape. But that takes time and cooperation. And food- you need to eat.”

Patton let his head rest on a pillow and began to cry in spite of himself. 

“Th-thank you,” he sniffled. There was truly hope for him-! There was hope that he could see Roman again, hope that he could escape, hope that he could go  _ home! _

__ The faerie sat next to him and silently picked an apple from off the tray. “You need to eat. Keep your strength. Bide your time until an opportunity comes, and I’ll get you out of here. I swear.” With a snap of his fingers, the vines around his wrists changed from green to gold, from leafy to scaly. A second later, two snakes slithered down his arms and into the faerie’s lap as Patton jumped away. 

“I have to leave that horrible thing around your neck, or else my father would likely be suspicious. I’m truly sorry.”

Patton just nodded, the vine-leash still attached to the headboard and restricting his movements. “How- how do I know I can trust you?” His voice shook. 

The faerie paused for a moment. “My name is Janus. Names hold power. I will not ask for yours, but you know mine. It's an exchange of power, in a way.”

“Thank you, Janus.”


	2. Chapter 2

Patton’s days were spent dangling in the birdcage high above the dining hall, his wrists and throat wrapped in thorny vines, unable to stand. His nights were spent in Janus’s room under the guise of him being… a plaything for the faerie. He was led through the halls by his vine collar and leash, hands bound in front of him each night. And each night in Janus’s room, the vines around his wrists turned to snakes. 

Each night, Janus apologized that the collar couldn’t be done away with, too. 

Each night, Patton was given food and water and the ability to walk, all of which he was sorely deprived of while he was kept up there as a pet to the faerie who kidnapped him- and who also happened to be the king. 

Each night, Janus- who Patton had found out to be a prince- swore that he would get Patton out of the faerie palace. 

And tonight, that time had come. Patton’s day had started out like every other day had started since he had been abducted. Wake up, try to work out the sores in his back and crick in his neck that came from sleeping the way he did, with arms above his head and legs tucked under him. Wait until the king held meals- at breakfast, he would be jeered at. Lunch, he would be ignored. Dinner, he would be forced to sing for his food, which came in the form of whatever he could catch, usually one or two dinner rolls. After dinner, the cage would fall and Janus would lead him away from the dining hall. In Janus’s room, he would be given food and water and the opportunity to stretch.

Janus led Patton to his room as usual- but instead of turning left where they normally did, Janus turned right. 

“Leave us. We’re going to the gardens,” Janus waved away a servant who tried to step in front of them. 

The gardens… Patton hadn;t even been outside for- however long he had been here. To see the moonlight, to feel the grass again-! Patton took a deep breath and allowed himself to hope. Janus tugged on the leash (everytime he did, he apologized later, claiming it was part of the act) and brough Patton through a wing of the castle he had never seen before. 

__ Patton gasped as he walked through a stone arch and saw the moonlight for the first time in what seemed like forever. Janus only spoke when they were in a more secluded part of the garden, on a path of gravel behind towering rose bushes. 

“Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to wait here for an hour or so, but make it look like we’re… doing things. When I nod, I want you to hit me as hard as you can and run east. Eventually you’re going to get closer to the sun. When that happens, don’t stop. Keep running, as fast as you can. That’s very important- if you aren’t fast enough, you won’t be able to get through the light. Once you’re through, you should be able to find your home. When you get back, protect yourself. Put bells in your pockets. Put a line of salt around your house, put iron shears on your door, look for four leaf clovers. And if you ever see another one of my kind, get to running water. We can’t cross it, so you’ll be safe. Understand?”

Patton nodded. “I can’t thank you enough, Janus. You could come with me, you could leave this horrible place….” 

“I couldn’t. My father would search for me and I’d put you in danger. Perhaps if I ever take the throne I could visit you. I don’t know when that would be, though.” Janus shook his head. 

“Janus,” Patton paused, dreading what the answer would be. “How long have I been here?”

“Three weeks in our time. Your time? I have no idea. It could be an hour, it could be a year. It could be a hundred years for all I know. Time moves differently in this world.” 

Patton pulled his knees to his chest and nodded. If- no,  _ when _ \- he got back, would Roman be an old man and not remember him? Would it be a year, and Roman would have kept looking? Or would it be an hour, and Roman hadn’t even gotten back from town? 

“Almost time. Get ready,” Janus turned the vines into snakes, something Patton had become somewhat used to. The vines around his neck finally came off!

“Hit me.”

“What?” Patton whisper-shouted. 

“I said hit me. We need to make it look like you escaped on your own! Now hit me!”

“I-” Patton lightly slapped Janus.

“Harder! Hit me like you mean it.”

Patton hit slightly harder, barely enough to bruise. 

“Hit me like you mean it, or I will go bash my head into a tree.”

Patton closed his eyes and balled his hand into a fist before hitting janus in the stomach. Janus stumbled back, clutching his chest. 

“Yes, just like that. Now run east! Go!”

“Hey Janus?”

“Stop wasting time, run!”

“My name is Patton.”

Patton took Janus into a quick hug before turning on his heel and bursting into a sprint to the east. He could have imagined it, but he swore he heard Janus whisper, “goodbye, Patton. Good luck.”

Patton flew over the grass, pumping his arms. He only looked back only once, to see Janus sitting against the trunk of a tree. He ran towards the sun, the bright morning light blinding him. But that didn’t stop him- only encouraged him to keep running. As the sunlight grew brighter, so did Patton’s hope. The tight pants and shirt clung to his sweaty back and legs, his cape has flown off long ago, the blue silk becoming lost in the wind. 

How long he had been running, he didn’t know. All he knew was that he had to keep going, keep running, keep going towards the light. The sun became blinding, and Patton remembered what Janus had said. He picked up speed, ran the fastest he had ever gone. The air seemed to thicken, though Pattno never slowed. Fighting to make it through the blinding light, Patton raised an arm as if to punch the air. 

Suddenly he stumbled into a familiar part of the forest. 

Patton only stopped running when he saw the blackberry bush, rays of sunlight illuminating the bare branches. He dropped to his knees and gasped for breath. He knew where he was! But… he didn’t know  _ when  _ he was. How long had it been? Patton figured it was winter, from the brown grass and bare bushes, so it had to have been at least three months.  _ Three months-  _ at least! It could have been three years, or even three decades!

There was only one way to find out.

Patton picked himself up and began down the path, the familiar trees suddenly terrifying. A faerie could jump out at him at any time, take him back to the castle, shove him back into the horrible cage-

The cottage was in sight now. 

Patton took a deep breath, steadying his nerves as he raised a hand to knock at the door. Who would answer? Roman? Would it be a Roman he knew, or one who had lived without Patton? 

One, two, three knocks. 

Patton felt as if his heart was about to beat right out of his chest, the anticipation of who would open the door consuming him. 

The door creaked open and Patton gasped, throwing himself forward. 

“Roman!”

“I- Pat- what- how?”

Roman stuttered as Patton threw himself forward into a hug. He felt Roman wrap his arms around Patton’s shoulders. They stood there for a minute, silent, until Roman asked, “Pat...what happened? Where have you been? Are- are you okay?” Roman stepped back, still holding Patton’s hands in his. 

“I’m okay now, Roman. I’m okay,” Patton replied with a sob. “How long has it been?” He dreaded the answer, but had to know. 

“You’ve been missing for two years.”

Patton ran a hand through his messy hair. Two years… two whole years! He had been in that birdcage for three weeks there, but had missed out on so much… two entire years… that was two winters of not sitting by the fireplace under blankets. 

Two autumns of not making their own apple cider, two springs of not planting a garden, two summers of not swimming in the lake. Two of Roman’s birthdays, two Solstice Festivals, two harvest days, two Full Moon Feasts. 

“Come here, Patton,” Roman took him in a hug again. “Come inside, sit down, clean yourself up, and you can talk about it if you want.”

So Patton changed his clothes, throwing the tight silk in a pile that they could sell the next time Roman went to town. He washed his face and combed his hair, and then told Roman everything. 

He told Roman about the king in orange, the kind prince who helped him, the vine restraints, the birdcage. He told Roman how he got out of the world of the faeries, how it had only been three weeks for him. 

Roman had let Patton hold on to him, had let Patton cry on his shoulder. 

“It’s okay, Pat. You’ve been through so much. But you’re safe now. I swear I will protect you.”

“Protection… Janus told me what to do. Shears, bells, salt. Running water.”

Patton told Roman what Janus had said, and the next day, there were shears on the door, salt encircling their home, and plans to dig a stream. 

It had been another year since Patton had returned. Things had stayed the same, like Patton and Roman planting their garden together, shooing away rabbits who came to nibble on the plants, laughing together. But things had changed, too. Now, instead of sleeping in different rooms, they lay together in one bed, kissing the other goodnight. That had been the best change. But Patton was a little slower to laugh, his smiles a little more strained. Roman had commented that his eyes had lost a spark. Patton hated being alone, so the next time Roman went to town, Patton went, too. 

The biggest change happened when the two of them came back from selling some eggs the chickens had laid and a few bushels of fruit. 

Standing just outside the circle of salt stood a familiar figure.

“Janus?”

“Hello, Patton,” he looked at him and Roman with a small smile. 

“You- you’re really here…” Patton held out a hand to touch Janus’s arm. 

“I am. I’m also the king now. I can come and go as I please.”

“Wait a minute,” Roman added, stepping in front of Patton. “You’re Janus? I thought Patton was exaggerating when he said you had snake scales.” 

“Yes, I am Janus. And no, Patton was not exaggerating. I came here because I wanted to apologize for everything my father put you through. In our world, it’s been years since I helped you escape. My father died under suspicious circumstances, so I’m the king now, and I’m working on passing laws to stop fae from taking humans, but it’s a lot of work-”

Janus was cut off by Patton’s hug. 

“Thank you, Janus. For everything.” Patton told him. 

Roman joined in. “Thank you for helping Patton. I don’t know what I would do if I had never seen him again.”

Janus returned the hug. 

“I’m just glad you two are both safe.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> the song is called Do the Roses Grow in November!


End file.
